‘Cocaine Bear’s Ending, Explained (& Why It’s Deceptively Happy)
Cocaine Bear (2023) is a wildly bloody horror/comedy that has a very grisly (and surprisingly upbeat) finale. Based loosely on a true story, Cocaine Bear focuses on the fallout of a black bear ingesting a massive amount of cocaine and going on a rampage in a national park. Part of the fun of the film comes from all the different kinds of people who encounter the animal and their efforts—often in vain—to escape it.
While the movie indulges in some real brutality, it also actually has some surprisingly sweet touches. The Elizabeth Banks-directed movie finds themes about the importance of family and the dangers of messing with nature amidst all the comical bloodshed, giving it a strong emotional core that pays off with a surprisingly optimistic ending. Even with all the death and mayhem that comes before it, here’s how Cocaine Bear’s ending gives the movie a softer edge.
‘Cocaine Bear’s Ending Is About Family
Cocaine Bear has a pretty high body count, but the choice of survivors underscores the themes at the heart of the film. The cocaine addicted bear at the heart of the movie slaughters most of the cast regardless of morality, while a handful perish at the hands of one another. However, the film does have a clear sense of morality when it comes to survivors. Sari is able to rescue Dee Dee and Henry, making their escape from the chaos. Meanwhile, Eddie and his best friend Daveed decide to give up the cash that they could claim if they followed Syd and instead make their escape, their loyalty to one another outweighing their connections to Syd.
This allows Eddie to be reunited with his son and keeps them from sharing Syd's fate of being ripped apart by bears. In Cocaine Bear, family is everything. Sari's efforts to rescue her daughter and his friend mimic the way the titular bear is willing to kill anything that threatens her cubs. Eddie's redemption is rooted in his decision to be with his son over falling for his father's ambitions. Save for minor characters Stache and Reba (who also survive the climax largely by removing themselves from the chaos when the opportunity presents itself), choosing family is how main characters survive in Cocaine Bear.
Why ‘Cocaine Bear’s Survivors Matter
For the most part, Cocaine Bear indulges in a certain level of gleefully brutal gallows humor. Characters get killed very quickly and in gruesome manners. Even simple morality isn’t enough to save people, as evidenced by the fates of Bob, Liz, Peter, Olaf, Tom, and Beth. Each of them is a good or well-meaning person in their own way, only for predators—both human and animal—to slaughter them. Even then, Syd can’t do anything to save himself when his greed keeps him targeting the bears.
One of the messages of the film is the danger of provoking nature or testing its might. The bear’s murderous rampage isn’t something that can be reasoned with, and it’s something the movie mines for comedy plenty of times. Efforts to control the situation always go poorly for everyone involved, with the survivors being the ones who are smart enough to simply walk away from the fight with nature. It plays into the movie’s underlying themes about the importance of respecting the divide between the natural world and human choices, all while ensuring that the actual protagonists of the story learn important lessons about family and survival.
What ‘Cocaine Bear’ Is Really All About
Cocaine Bear’s real emotional throughline is centered on Sari and Eddie. Although the two barely interact in the film, they serve as direct foils to one another. Both of them are treated as single parents, with a focus on their love for their children serving as key aspects of their personality. While Sari is more proactive in her efforts to help, the recent widower Eddie is too sad to be a proper parent to his son. Both of them have their real familial connections reaffirmed by the end of the film, with Sari even saving a wounded Daveed in a kind reminder of her work as a nurse.
The film may indulge in being a horror/comedy, but the real message of the film is a genuinely happy one. In the end, it’s the families who survive. For Sari, that means rescuing her daughter and her best friend. For Eddie, that means helping Daveed and being reunited with his son—and notably getting out from under his father’s thumb, who’d largely treated Eddie as an employee instead of as a family member. Even the Cocaine Bear gets a happy ending when it’s reunited with its cubs, a sign that nature may be dangerous, but it is also fueled on some level by love. It all gives the brutal film a surprisingly upbeat finale that helps counteract some of Cocaine Bear’s grimmer elements.
